Where Does PowerShell Store Command History?
Where PSReadLine saves command history on Windows, and the option that prints or moves the live path.
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PowerShell command history lives in ConsoleHost_history.txt under %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine. Every accepted command appends there, and Up arrow plus Ctrl+R search it across sessions.
Cmdlets and native commands share the file indiscriminately, including anything typed with secrets in plain text. Clear sensitive lines with Clear-History plus a file edit, and consider Set-PSReadLineOption -HistorySaveStyle SaveNothing for vault adjacent sessions.
Where PowerShell stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt
Paste %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine into Explorer. Confirm with (Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath. $PROFILE customizes the path persistently.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print my exact history path?
Run (Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath: it prints the file your session actually writes. Custom profiles, -NoProfile launches and older module versions all shift it. Trust that output over any documented default.
How do I move or share history across hosts?
Set-PSReadLineOption -HistorySavePath <path> (persist it in $PROFILE). Commands append on accept, and Up arrow searches incrementally. History is per host name by default: ConsoleHost, VS Code andISE keep separate files unless redirected together.
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